So for my final year research project I am investigating the differences
between different compressors, their uses and ultimately, their sound.

If
you've had some experience with different analogue compressors, then you can help me by
answering the questions below. Just fill in as many as you can, and that will be of a
great help to me and my primary research. Thank you for your time.

Andy (3rd
Year Sound Technology @ LIPA)

1 a) If you were only allowed to chose 3
compressors to work with in a studio (for tracking or mixing), which 3 compressors would
you chose and why?

1 b) For what reason/purpose would you
chose these compressors? (e.g. Does it add a certain character to the sound? Is it because
it is transparent? Is it for a certain type of “effect”? Is it because it is
versatile?)

2 a) Do you track with compression for certain
instruments? If so, please give an example.

2 b) When
tracking with compression, in instances such as the one you gave above, are you looking to
commit to adding the characteristics of that compressor, or are you simply looking to
alter the dynamic range? (Or both?)

3. Do you find that your
approach to compression at the mix stage changes from at the tracking stage?

4 a) Do you have any special “creative” uses for certain
compressors? E.g. Do you use a certain compressor for pumping room mics? Do you use any
for parallel compression on certain instruments?

4 b) What
kind of sonic effect does this have on the sound?

5 a) Do you
have a favourite Optical Compressor? Please state

5 b) How
would you describe its characteristics?

6 a) Do you have a
favourite Vari-Mu compressor?

6 b) How would you describe its
characteristics?

7 a) Do you have a favourite VCA
compressor?

7 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

8 a) What kind of applications have you used an 1176
limiter/compressor for?

8 b) Optional Question:

If you have used several different models of the 1176, how would you describe the
difference in sound between them?

9) Can you give your
thoughts on two different types of mix bus compressors you have used and the difference in
sound/performance?

10. How do you think the use of
compressor/limiters in studio recordings has changed from the early days to current day
use?

11. Would you agree with the statement that, if faced
with the decision between not being able to use any EQ when recording/mixing or not being
able to use compression, most engineers would rather have compressors? (and why?)

Quote Ted Kendall:Lord
Rutherford used to say that all science was either physics or stamp collecting...

Hmmm. Since we're apparently
pulling our collective goatees with quotations that have only limited, or no, application
to the task in hand, I'll add

"When I hear the word culture, I reach for my
gun"

(A quote often associated with Hermann Göring, (Jan 12, 1893-Oct. 15,
1946) a member of the Nazi party who was sentenced to death at the Nuremberg Trials.

The original quote was not actually from Göring, but from Act 1, Scene 1 of Hanns
Johst's play Schlageter, which was performed in 1933 for Adolf Hitler's birthday. The
original line was: "Wenn ich Kultur höre ... entsichere ich meinen Browning!" which means
"When I hear "culture" I release the safety catch on my Browning!"

The phrase
Göring is said to have been fond of is the slightly modified "When I hear the word
'culture' I reach for my gun." Or sometimes "When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my
Browning." Perhaps he modified the quote for his own usage, or over the years, translation
has become garbled.

The quote has been modified to suit various purposes in
recent times. See: "When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my checkbook" and "When I
hear of Schrödinger's Cat I reach for my gun.")

Welcome to the forum,
dear poster, but you may find that some of us prefer to have fun, than answer a lot of
questions !

So for my final year research project I am
investigating the differences between different compressors, their uses and ultimately,
their sound.

If you've had some experience with different analogue compressors,
then you can help me by answering the questions below. Just fill in as many as you can,
and that will be of a great help to me and my primary research. Thank you for your time.

Andy (3rd Year Sound Technology @ LIPA)

1 a) If you were only
allowed to chose 3 compressors to work with in a studio (for tracking or mixing), which 3
compressors would you chose and why?

I would choose 3 Alesis 3630s for their pumping sounds

Quote:

1 b) For
what reason/purpose would you chose these compressors? (e.g. Does it add a certain
character to the sound? Is it because it is transparent? Is it for a certain type of
&#8220;effect&#8221;? Is it because it is versatile?)

Yes

Quote:

2 a) Do you track with compression for certain instruments?
If so, please give an example.

Yes, for example, I would use a compressor on a trumpet.

Quote:

2 b) When tracking with compression, in
instances such as the one you gave above, are you looking to commit to adding the
characteristics of that compressor, or are you simply looking to alter the dynamic range?
(Or both?)

Both of course!

Quote:

3. Do you find
that your approach to compression at the mix stage changes from at the tracking stage?

Yes I do

Quote:

4 a) Do you have
any special &#8220;creative&#8221; uses for certain compressors? E.g. Do you use a
certain compressor for pumping room mics? Do you use any for parallel compression on
certain instruments?

Yes

Quote:

4 b) What kind of
sonic effect does this have on the sound?

Changes the dynamics, mostly

Quote:

5 a) Do you have a favourite Optical
Compressor? Please state

Not
really, I love them all

Quote:

5 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

An optical compressor allows you to "see" into
more of the sound

Quote:

6 a) Do you have a favourite Vari-Mu compressor?

Yes

Quote:

6 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

Variable

Quote:

7 a) Do you have a favourite VCA
compressor?

Yes

Quote:

7 b) How would
you describe its characteristics?

Pumpy

Quote:

8 a) What kind of applications have you used an 1176 limiter/compressor for?

Changing the dynamic range
of recorded audio

Quote:

8 b) Optional Question:

If you have used several different models of
the 1176, how would you describe the difference in sound between them?

The older ones are certainly "warmer" and
"more analogue"

Quote:

9) Can you give your thoughts on two different types of mix bus compressors you have
used and the difference in sound/performance?

The older the better, really, and the more "warm" and "analogue"

Quote:

10. How do you
think the use of compressor/limiters in studio recordings has changed from the early days
to current day use?

There are
definitely more of them

Quote:

11. Would you agree with the statement that, if faced with the decision
between not being able to use any EQ when recording/mixing or not being able to use
compression, most engineers would rather have compressors? (and why?)

It has to be said that 1st time posters asking for
help with their coursework often get a rough ride here... Sorry.

I would make a couple of observations about your post.

You state that you are
investigating the differences between compressors their use and their sound, but you have
constructed a questionnaire that won't further that investigation. If anyone does answer
it, it will have given you an insight into people's preferences when using different
compressors, not an insight into the actual devices themselves. Surely that can only be
done with some first hand experimentation. (and I assume you might have some compressors
to hand to tinker with)

The other thing is that while you might get a number of
people to be verbose on the subject of compression, with the right kind of targeted
questions, your questionnaire is a quite large and really a big ask for most people on a
forum. I.e it looks like hard work and most people are here to chill and chew the fat on
sound tech related subjects.

And finally, probably a lot of people here are
like me - enthusiastic amateurs. I only have direct experience of a couple of crappy low
end Alesis and Aphex compressors,and everything else I've ever used has been a plug-in, so
really, even if I wanted to respond, my answers at least would be useless.

Fair point, but what is this country doing handing out useless bits of paper to young and
enthusiastic people which will be damn all use in getting a job in the industry, even
assuming there were enough to go round? I could weep with frustration sometimes...

Quote Ted Kendall:Lord
Rutherford used to say that all science was either physics or stamp collecting...

...quotations that have only
limited, or no, application to the task in hand...

I think what Ted is saying is that if you want to investigate
"the differences between different compressors, their uses and ultimately, their sound",
then a questionnaire is a rather indirect way to go about it. You would be better off
whipping out your meters and studying the devices themselves, studying studios to see how
they use compressors, and experimenting on people to see which kinds of compression they
like. Or something like that.

I'll bite. While I'll be the first to admit that it's really simple (and more appropriate)
to do something like this with Google docs (they have excellent survey tools, and free!),
I think it's all too easy to be cynical when someone asks for help. I can only offer
advice within my experience, but I hope the OP (and others) find some benefit from my
answers. After all, this is a community isn't it?

1 a) If you were only
allowed to chose 3 compressors to work with in a studio (for tracking or mixing), which 3
compressors would you chose and why?

SSL K-Series compressor. Open, fast, and
doesn't colour the sound. Simply serves up what you put in, but compressed.

Empirical Labs Distressor. When I want some drive, there's little as good. Bitey,
aggressive, and the righttype of colour. Wouldn't use it on everything, but a gem at what
it does.

SSL Bus Compressor. Mix into it. Glue. 'Nuff said.

1
b) For what reason/purpose would you chose these compressors? (e.g. Does it add a certain
character to the sound? Is it because it is transparent? Is it for a certain type of
“effect”? Is it because it is versatile?)

See above.

2 a)
Do you track with compression for certain instruments? If so, please give an example.

I'll usually use compression when tracking on everything, with the exception of
accoustic instruments (where I tend to use limiters instead just to catch peaks).
Generally on low ratios to leave me some "space" when mixing. Just a little squeeze, to my
ears adds a coherence to the recorded signal.

2 b) When tracking with
compression, in instances such as the one you gave above, are you looking to commit to
adding the characteristics of that compressor, or are you simply looking to alter the
dynamic range? (Or both?)

Usually just dynamic range. I look to add
"colour/tone" at the mix stage rather than the tracking one.

3. Do you find that your approach to compression at the mix stage changes from at the
tracking stage?

Yes. When tracking I'm looking to make as much as the incoming
signal as I can. When mixing, I'm looking for shape, grab, and colour in the context of
the mix.

4 a) Do you have any special “creative” uses for certain
compressors? E.g. Do you use a certain compressor for pumping room mics? Do you use any
for parallel compression on certain instruments?

SSL Listen Mic Compressor.
Nothing like it for parallel compression on drums.Distressor. An "effect" compressor
if there was one. Aggressive, driven when pushed.

4 b) What kind of
sonic effect does this have on the sound?

This question is far too
wide-ranging. After all, the biggest difference will be from the source, not the
processing.

5 a) Do you have a favourite Optical Compressor? Please
state

Not really, although I do have a soft spot for the Joe Meek SC2 on
electric guitars.

5 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

transient-light, rounded, nicely fuzzy.

6 a) Do you have a
favourite Vari-Mu compressor?

There really are not that many of them out there,
and generally they're all pretty pricey. I wouldn't imagine that too many people actually
have experience with them. I for one haven't clocked up very much mix time with them.

6 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

See above.

7 a) Do you have a favourite VCA compressor?

SSL Bus
Compressor.

7 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

Great
with transients at slower attack times, pumping like a king on shorter ones. Grabby,
in-your-face, and "glue".

8 a) What kind of applications have you used an
1176 limiter/compressor for?

Lots of bass. Bass, and more bass. Very good when
you have a "spitty" singer with fast transients.

8 b) Optional
Question:

If you have used several different models of the 1176, how would you
describe the difference in sound between them?

This is a pointless question. 2
of the same version sound different depending on maintainence, temperature, tube
condition, etc etc. Anyone anal enough to have factory-calibrated units of all of the
different versions might be able to answer this for you, but I'm not sure what you'd learn
from it.

9) Can you give your thoughts on two different types of mix bus
compressors you have used and the difference in sound/performance?

I've used a
number of them. SSL, API, Neve, Focusrite, Manley.... I'm in the fortunate position where
I get to play with lots of toys. If you're looking for more info on this I'd suggest a
search through the reviews of a great magazine like SOS. Either that, or give FX Rentals a
call and ask to go down and try some as part of your degree. You'll probably get lots of
good answers from people who regularly use one bus compressor, but demo'ed many before
their purchase decision. Generally people will have a single "weapon of choice".

10. How do you think the use of compressor/limiters in studio recordings has
changed from the early days to current day use?

Massively - simply because
technology is so much more affordable so people have more compressors. What did
people do before this? They rode the fader. In earlier recordings limiters were more
readily available and were used to protect from "overs" before hitting tape. SSL were the
first people to have dynamics on every channel of the desk as factory standard, and this
in itself in a small way changed how poeple approached compression in a mix. Desks pretty
much always had EQ on, but compression is a later addition as a standard feature.

11. Would you agree with the statement that, if faced with the decision between
not being able to use any EQ when recording/mixing or not being able to use compression,
most engineers would rather have compressors? (and why?)

I would disagree
completely. You can always use a fader to control dynamic range, and some producers still
choose to do this rather than compress a signal. However, being unable to change the tone
of a sound at the mix stage is a much larger issue in typical situations.

Good luck with your dissertation. Feel free to PM me if you'd like further info.

Quote Ted Kendall:Fair point,
but what is this country doing handing out useless bits of paper to young and enthusiastic
people which will be damn all use in getting a job in the industry, even assuming there
were enough to go round? I could weep with frustration sometimes...

Your attitude, and those who share it,
actually make me think that sometimes our industry deserves to die on its knees.

Onto the topic;

Wouldn't this questionaire be better served via a
goggle document ? or survey monkey ?
Just a suggestion. May make more people do it,
as it'd be easier.

1 a) If you were only allowed to chose 3
compressors to work with in a studio (for tracking or mixing), which 3 compressors would
you chose and why?
Distressor / LA2A / RNC
Different tastes, and
abilities.

1 b) For what reason/purpose would you chose these compressors?
(e.g. Does it add a certain character to the sound? Is it because it is transparent? Is it
for a certain type of “effect”? Is it because it is versatile?)
Adds character,
and all of them are versatile in their own ways.

2 a) Do you track with
compression for certain instruments? If so, please give an example.
Vocals. Rarely
do "instruments", unless I have to.

2 b) When tracking with compression, in
instances such as the one you gave above, are you looking to commit to adding the
characteristics of that compressor, or are you simply looking to alter the dynamic range?
(Or both?)
Alter dynamic range.

3. Do you find that your approach to
compression at the mix stage changes from at the tracking stage?
Yeah, I generally
try to add character as well as reducing dynamic range - as opposed to reducing the range
in the tracking stage. Allows for easier mixing session.

4 a) Do you have any
special “creative” uses for certain compressors? E.g. Do you use a certain compressor
for pumping room mics? Do you use any for parallel compression on certain instruments?
Depends on the mix, but pumping the mix I rarely do. Perhaps NY compression on guitars
and drums.

4 b) What kind of sonic effect does this have on the sound?
A good one? (why else would I do it?!)

5 a) Do you have a favourite Optical
Compressor? Please state
Nope.

5 b) How would you describe its
characteristics?

6 a) Do you have a favourite Vari-Mu compressor?
Nope.

6 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

7 a) Do
you have a favourite VCA compressor?
Logic's own!

7 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

8 a) What kind of
applications have you used an 1176 limiter/compressor for?
I haven't used one.

8 b) Optional Question:

If you have used several different models of
the 1176, how would you describe the difference in sound between them?

9) Can you give your thoughts on two different types of mix bus compressors you have
used and the difference in sound/performance?
I switch (and play) around with the
RNC and the Logic one from time to time. Clean compression to more saturated, but I
generally leave the mix bus alone.

10. How do you think the use of
compressor/limiters in studio recordings has changed from the early days to current day
use?
Over use in the reduction department, due to more headroom in modern equipment
and therefore not the "requirement" to do so.

11. Would you agree with the
statement that, if faced with the decision between not being able to use any EQ when
recording/mixing or not being able to use compression, most engineers would rather have
compressors? (and why?)
People are used to hearing compression, and engineers have
become accustomed to that. Personally, I wouldn't mind - as long as I had an EQ, I could
make a mix easily.

If you've had some experience with different
food processors, then you can help me by answering the questions below. Just fill in as
many as you can, and that will be of a great help to me and my primary research. Thank you
for your time.

1 a) If you were only allowed to chose 3 cakes to
work with in a studio (for baking or mixing), which 3 cakes would you chose and why?

1 b) For what reason/purpose would you chose these cakes? (e.g.
Does it add a certain sweetness to the taste? Is it because it is vanilla? Is it for a
certain type of “effect”? Is it because it is cocoa?)

2
a) Do you mix with gloves for certain cakes? If so, please give an example.

2 b) When baking with chocolate, in instances such as the one you gave
above, are you looking to commit to adding the characteristics of that chocolate, or are
you simply looking to alter the yuminess? (Or both?)

3. Do
you find that your approach to stirring at the mix stage changes from at the baking
stage?

4 a) Do you have any special “creative” uses for
certain icing? E.g. Do you use a certain icing for pumping cake? Do you use any for
parallel icing on certain cakes?

4 b) What kind of effect
does this have on the cake?

5 a) Do you have a favourite
Optical Cake? Please state

5 b) How would you describe its
characteristics?

6 a) Do you have a favourite Vari-Mu
cake?

6 b) How would you describe its characteristics?

7 a) Do you have a favourite VCA cake?

7
b) How would you describe its characteristics?

8 a) What kind
of applications have you used an 1176 mixing bowl for?

8 b)
Optional Question:

If you have used several different models of the cakemix,
how would you describe the difference in taste between them?

9) Can you give your thoughts on two different types of cake mix buses you have used and
the difference in taste/performance?

10. How do you think the
use of cake in studio recordings has changed from the early days to current day use?

11. Would you agree with the statement that, if faced with the
decision between not being able to use any cake or not being able to use biscuits, most
engineers would rather have cake? (and why?)

Quote Chucho:11. Would you agree
with the statement that, if faced with the decision between not being able to use any cake
or not being able to use biscuits, most engineers would rather have cake? (and why?)

Had you even bothered to read
White, Robjohns et al's seminal work on the Psychoacoustic Effects of Chocolate HobNobs
you wouldn't be posting such an obvious question as this.

Andy, good luck with
your degree, but I suspect the results you get here are likely to be somewhat skewed. Some
people will post serious replies out of sympathy, some will post to be funny, some will
post to show off their knowledge, others will pretend they've got access to equipment
they've only ever seen in magazines. Unfortunately the people whose opinions you really
need are too busy working to even consider replying.

Quote: Your attitude, and
those who share it, actually make me think that sometimes our industry deserves to die on
its knees.

Quote: Some people will post
serious replies out of sympathy, some will post to be funny, some will post to show off
their knowledge, others will pretend they've got access to equipment they've only ever
seen in magazines. Unfortunately the people whose opinions you really need are too busy
working to even consider replying.

I've been in this business nigh on thirty years, and started with a degree in
electronic engineering. Moving from amateur to professional operations, I found out jolly
fast that an ounce of experience is worth a ton of paper, just as with design a day's
thought is worth a decade of "tradition". If my attitude stinks, so be it; but shoving a
load of half-trained people out into an industry for which they have not been equipped and
then chivvying them with half-baked rules, regulations and targets is a recipe for
disaster and a shocking waste of enthusiasm and faith - and these are what drive people
forward.

Quote Ted Kendall:Fair point,
but what is this country doing handing out useless bits of paper to young and enthusiastic
people which will be damn all use in getting a job in the industry, even assuming there
were enough to go round? I could weep with frustration sometimes...

Your attitude, and those who share it,
actually make me think that sometimes our industry deserves to die on its knees.

That's a really terrible thing to say.
If you are happy to encourage more young people to waste the best years of their lives on
chasing pointless dreams, that's one thing, but there's no need to come out with idiotic
statements like that.